Rivers, located on the lobby level of The CME Building, is one of the Chicago Loop's most popular restaurants. Rivers offers creative, seasonally changing contemporary American cuisine with influences from around the globe. Rivers is an all occasion venue featuring a relaxed yet upscale dining room & a large outdoor deck for alfresco dining during warm weather months.Rivers is the perfect place for a business lunch, or for meeting friends after work for happy hour drinks or dinner. It's next-door proximity to the Civic Opera House, as well as all downtown theaters makes Rivers an excellent pre-theatre choice before the show begins. The United Center is also close by & Rivers is an ideal "first stop" for meeting friends for a Bulls or Hawks game. Please note: Rivers Restaurant does not take reservations online for parties larger than 14. Reservations are for Dining Room only. Patio seating is on a first come basis.

Private Dining

Rivers, located on the lobby level of The CME Center, is one of the Chicago Loop's most popular restaurants. Rivers offers creative, seasonally changing, contemporary American cuisine with influences from around the globe.
The adjoining wine bar, Rittergut, accommodates small private parties.

I've eaten at Rivers many times - it has always been excellent - quality of the food, service, etc.And - since parking for the Lyric Opera in that building is so convenient - and Rivers Restaurant is on the way to the opera - in that building - it is also very convenient. I will be returning! Ralph Wilder

Not great, but ok food. It's a handy place to eat if attending the opera. On our visit last week the waitress was obviously not paying much attention to our order. A salad came dressed although we asked for dressing on the side, and a Tito's martini arrived at our table instead of the Tanqueray that was ordered.

Pre-opera lunch spot! Great proximity to the trains and the opera house. We had a delightful lunch with varied menu choices. Our waiter was aware of our time constraints and we had ample time to enjoy our lunch and get to the matinee.

We often have our pre-opera dinner at Rivers and can say that the food over the years has never been a disappointment . Service, on the other hand has had its ups and downs. Just about three weeks ago, we had a down, no a DOWN, service experience and let the hostess, a long-time, fantastically pleasant and helpful employee of the restaurant, know of our displeasure. The meal for this review was outstanding both from cuisine and from service. If you've read this far, we recommend you request, Tina (real name Christine, but known as Tina at the restaurant) to offer your dining service and guarantee an outstanding dining and service experience.

The manager was polite and accommodating when I complained that my entree was not thoroughly cooked (very cold at the center of tbe meat). He explained how it happened, apologized and took it off the bill. Not all restaurants are that accommodating, so I appreciated his response.

We came for dinner before the opera, and had a fantastic experience. The food was wonderful: Arctic Char with lentils, spinach, and pomegranate; and Asiago-crusted scallops. The wine list is good. The menu is creative, especially if you like fish. The service was very attentive. In all we found this to be a wonderful experience and are planning to return for our next opera dinner.

We selected the restaurant because it had a very diverse menu but were disappointed to find that the menu the night we dined was a fraction of the normal menu. The waiter described it as less than a third of the normal dinner menu. The food was fine but at our table of seven, three people had the same entree and one person had the larger version of one of the appetizers we ordered for the table. Coupled with the renovation noise outside, it was not the experience we expected.

Love this restaurant. My number one pick for pre-Opera on a saturday night. Food is amazing and fairly priced. Host/hostess staff very attentive and pleasant. Normally they are 5 starts all the way... this visit they seemed to be a little short staffed with the waiters/waitresses. Ran out of drinks during dinner and just seemed a bit unorganized that night. Everyone was doing the best they could!

Though we've shared multiple meals at River's my opera friend and I were exceptionally impressed with the quality of our meals this evening. The seafood stew was absolutely excellent and the caesar salad was prepared exactly as I requested (which generally has not been the case). The fresh warm bread was brought to the table promptly. My friend's entree was also perfect. The setting is quiet and pleasant, even in the center of a busy building and our server this evening was someone we had not had before - and she was wonderful, attentive, pleasant and responded to our requests for some modifications on the menu items. This is an exceptional restaurant.

Actually a last minute decision on Valentines day. Server (Jason??) was great! The house specialty scallops are amazing! Appetizer ravioli another total win! Great time , fair drink prices, it was a good find. We are sure to be back.

Because it was Ash Wednesday besides Valentine's Day, my wife and I both ordered seafood. She ordered the King Salmon special. I ordered Grouper from the regular menu. Both were excellent. Thomas provided excellent service.

Love the updated menu. You have kept a few of the old favorites and refreshed the menu with some new really great options. Hope to continue my patronage for years going forward. My only choice for opera nights.

The food was uninspired and the menu lacked good healthy options. Service was OK but soup should not be delivered to the table when the customers are still eating their appetizers. We use to go to this restaurant several times a year. Not sure we will be returning.

Mediocre food and service in a sterile environment. Not really worth the money or time but convenient for the opera. It was winter and the river patio was closed so maybe the view would improve the setting/ambiance but the food and service would remain unchanged